More owners of new vehicles could soon see a less expensive inspection bill. But federal authorities must first be convinced that lifting the requirement won’t harm the state’s air quality. Vehicle owners in the state’s 48 most urban counties, including Cleveland and Rutherford, now have to pay $30 for an annual emissions and safety inspection. The state gets part of that while inspection stations keep the bulk of the money.

Under current rules, vehicles don’t have to receive the emissions check until they are more than a year old. Last year, then-Gov. Bev Perdue signed a bill into law that would loosen the requirement. It would exempt cars and light-duty trucks from the emissions inspection, provided they are fewer than three years old and have fewer than 70,000 miles on the odometer.

It was an effort to eliminate tests that state officials deemed unnecessary, said Tom Mather, spokesman for the N.C. Division of Air Quality. “There was quite a bit of data we collected and analyzed,” he said. “We did a very detailed study.”

The change could take effect in 2014. But the details must first be approved by the state’s Environmental Management Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The EPA’s primary concern is that this change … not result in any degradation of air quality,” Mather said.

When would change happen?

The N.C. Division of Air Quality held a public hearing on the revised plan recently in Raleigh.

The division will also accept written comments through Oct. 14. The change would spare owners of new cars the cost of annual emissions inspections but they would still have to pay to have headlights, tires, windshield wipers and other parts scrutinized once a year.

North Carolina has about 8.5 million registered vehicles.

Based on the current number that are three years old and newer, inspection stations in the state’s high-emission counties could lose millions, according to the Division of Air Quality study. The state would also lose money.

What's the local reaction?

At Clark Tire in Shelby, manager Darin Davis said mechanics perform about 250 inspections a month. He said that correlates to 5-10 percent of business.

“I think inspections are a good thing,” Davis said. “Cars made in 1995 and back are probably polluting the air the worst, but they don’t have the same emissions requirements. Newer cars, it’s a mixed bag. You probably don’t have the same emissions.”

Davis said changes to the inspection requirements would raise questions like what the best mileage and manufacturing date cutoff would be for changing the process.

“Where do you draw the line?” he said.

Davis said it’s not the first time mechanics have heard there could be inspection process changes.

“They’ve talked before about doing away with them like South Carolina,” he said. “The inspections are good for money for us, but they’re also good for the environment and good for safety.”

The Star’s Matthew Tessnear contributed to this report. Reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.